Northeast Ohio mom shares baby’s life-threatening experience with RSV

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - It was a lot for little Max to go through.

“He started breathing really heavy his eyes got red he was really congested he was coughing,” Samantha Schumann said.

It’s still hard for Samantha Schumann.

Back in October her baby Max, then only five weeks old, was struggling with RSV and it was quickly going from bad to worse.

The virus is especially dangerous for young babies.

“The smaller you are, the harder you fall unfortunately with these respiratory illnesses,” Dr. John Carl said.

Doctor John Carl, a pediatric pulmonologist at Cleveland Clinic Children’s says there are 2 simple ways to try and protect your children.

• regularly wash your hands and clean surfaces.
• Masks can also help with prevention.

Parents should be especially cautious during the upcoming holidays. Limiting exposure to large crowds can help protect children and the elderly.

Little Max was intubated for ten days before showing signs of improvement.

But finally, he was able to recover.

Thankfully, Schumann can now look back and breathe a sigh of relief that her baby is ok.

“Just seeing him breathe for the first time on his own was amazing,” she said.

So, this holiday season if you see your little ones having the same symptoms, Dr. Carl is encouraging parents to bring them to the hospital right away!

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